#but anyways i need to catch up on all the new stuff dodger has put out BECAUSE I READ THE NOTIF AND I LITERALLY START GOING

[hyunteru]

okay it’s time to lock in because i’m behind on my update schedule which i said i would do before 2025 and im behind on reading BUT !! trust i’ll get to it because i’ve seen so so so many updates that ive been itching to read but i haven’t had a moment to kinda sit down and relax and have free time

[the-firebird69]

So she is wearing the Brooklyn New York Jersey no sunset I thought that was the dodgers and it is and that's what it started or where it started the dodgers started the Yankees were from south of Manhattan and Kansas City was in Kansas City Missouri and you put it all together you get the first three teams but the dodgers is not what she's wearing and it was like a jersey that was aftermarket and it's not shaped like it it's nothing like that real jersey for the most part it's sort of is it's a baseball jersey and her son is wearing a military t-shirt did they have in the automobile pool. So what he's saying is I have some for it and they're being nice and overtime Aaron arrogant it's good.

I have an idea and it's about the sedan and he just started it even though he had it he said to introduce it as a kid car as a fast classy sports car to replace your neon is a good a really good idea cuz the neon is hurting and there are other cars that are hurting like that they just nothing cars Chevy and stuff has these really bad cars they're not like the full size which look kind of sporty they're really really crappy so we've got an idea of what to do and how to introduce it and it doesn't increase your fuel economy and very well it's almost twice as economical and very fast the judge neon with the standard I think it's a hundred and 70 horsepower motor which is pretty powerful with the sedan body will go about 380 miles an hour and nobody believes it but you have to have high performance rims and tires they look really nice as opposed to what it looks like now it's kind of sporty the way it is anyways but you're going to look like a BMW or something there's a reason to do it is that they can't get away with driving the GT these days

Thor Freya

It says it. Good.

Hera

Zues

I'm going to push for that it's in my mind the whole time it was his idea for his people it's a really good idea and there are a lot of chassis that are not being used and we can ship them and we probably should so we're going to get to it

Trump

I like it and the speed is very good that's just a neon if you put it on something else there are plenty of four doors and this idea was the Scion it's not the name of it but it's a Dodge and he'll name the thing but that car is very fast I'm wondering how fast

Dan

Is Dave's old car and it is the Dodge and it would go probably about 480 with that body which is very very fast and the thing with that car is that it can handle it with the right tires and rims where's the smaller car won't so if you need top speed that's the one to get and you'll be most cars and no cop car I'll catch you and no bike even the souped-up ones and the the really jacked up cars I'm trying to catch you when you have time

Thor Freya if you stupid off you'll get about 5:30 miles per hour

That's very fast most of our cars go 400 top speed and their souped up and the Corvette and things like that that we get in super nothing we heard about ever goes that fast it's a sedan and we need it and we need it now

Dan

Are we making out of metal it's not worth making out of plastic anymore and nobody doesn't I will stamp it of course and with reinforcing Stanton and the price will be on 2,500 for a full-size sedan 2300 for the smaller with and you'd have to add for rims and tires usually like four or five hundred dollars because we getting cheap and we make them cheap but the like our son's tires are made well

Thor Freya we also have chassis upon chassis upon chassis no chassis like the Dodge that's like 2500 bucks and like the neon size chassis brand new though these are 2023 and they're leftovers leftover chassis with a motor and tranny and everything on it cuz they're not worth anything otherwise

We approved this message

Olympus

So I'm calling on the GT guys to get it out there to ride around in it and see what it's like well let's just say Audi or your BMW with your new grill and they say they've been doing it but no gotta see how that is

Zues Hera

We rode around the other day and not too much notice it's in Miami Tampa places even on the road cuz they look like the Kia and they look like the Honda and then they look fairly similar like this bunch of girls going by Bella kind of jacked up

Trump

[jenni42085]

Nervous <Two>

Chapter 2

Chris and Lena pulled up to Marylea’s house. Despite being incredibly nervous about lunch with Chris, Lena was actually able to relax and let her guard down. 

“Sorry to keep you out late. But did you at least have a good time?”

“Honestly, yes. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to have an adult conversation without worry about little ears listening or having to stop every so often to make sure she is ok.”

“Well, I’m glad to give you a little break. I can’t imagine it’s easy doing it all alone.” 

Chris could only imagine all the stuff she has had to deal with on her own. It probably doesn’t help with having anxiety. But if she is able to have a good time maybe it will help easy her. 

“It’s not all that bad but I wouldn’t change the feeling for anything in the world. She is a good baby.”

“That’s good to hear. Can’t wait to meet her.” He replies. He doesn’t want to let her go but knows she spent most of her day on a plane and should have some bonding time with her bestie. “So tomorrow what are you doing?”

“Probably sleep. Why?”

“Well if Marylea is working all day. I can keep you company and do some cheesy sight seeing.”

Lena’s eyes grow slightly larger, she wasn’t expecting that. “Ummm. Sure.”

“I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to just figured we could continue to hang out and I have nothing on my schedule. It’s kind of boring to be home alone all day.”

Hearing his reason Lena slightly regrets her reply to an innocent question. “No, that sounds like a good idea. Just nothing too early. I have a feeling Marylea will wanna do some drinking so yeah. Might be slightly hungover.”

“Gotcha. Are you a party girl?”

“Maybe back in the day. Once I got married and had Eevee, that feeling kind of went away. You know?”

“Understandable. We all have those party animal moments right?”

“Exactly.”

The pair grew quiet thinking about how they both use to party hard but have grown up and stopped acting like children. 

“Can I have your phone to put my number in?” Lena smiles and hands her phone over to Chris. “So I’ll call or text around 10 ok?”

“Awesome sauce.” Without thinking Lena leans over gives Chris a quick hug and small peck on the cheek and runs inside before he could open the door for her. “Bye” she yells from the front door before walking inside.

What a woman, he thinks as he pulls off.

********************************************

“Well, well, well, look who finally decides to come home?” Marylea says as she gets up from the couch. “Were you guys making out?”

“Funny but no. We just had lunch at a small restaurant and talked. A lot.”

“Talked? That’s it. You went out on a date with Chris Evans and all you did was talk?”

Lena gives Marylea a look. “Yes. Just talking. Sorry that I didn’t bang him on the first date.”

“Just kidding. But it’s good to know you had a nice time.” Marylea replies as she opens up a bottle of wine. “So do you like him or like him like him?”

“He’s a nice guy.”

“You are avoiding the question.” Marylea hands Lena a glass of wine. “I’ll ask again when you are tipsy. I mean he isn’t my type but I’m not dead. He’s gorgeous.”

Lena takes a few sips of wine and kicks off her shoes, planting herself next to Marylea on the couch. “I don’t know if I like him like him. I honestly just met the guy.”

A few hours and drinks later. . .

“So he is sexy. But I doubt I’m his type.”

“Why would you say that? He legit picked you! Stop selling yourself short. You are worthy of happiness.”

“I feel like I already had my happiness with Ezra. I don’t know if I need or deserve someone else.”

Marylea looks at her friend like she is crazy. Lena had changed a little bit after meeting Ezra. Even though Lena would never admit it but he could be slightly verbally abuse and make Lena think no one else would ever want her. Hearing her best friend say that broke her heart. “You and I both know that isn’t true. You are worthy of all of it. Hence why I set you up with him.”

“You really think I’m worthy of Chris freaking Evans?” Marylea nods at her; Lena shrugs and picks up her phone. “Ok. Fine. I’ll text him then.”

“Wait, you’ve had his number this entire evening and didn’t tell me or anything?”

“My bad?” Lena gives her a tipsy smile. “What should I say?”

“What do you wanna say? And isn’t a little late?”

They both looked at the clock. 2:45 in the morning. It was a little late or early however you look at it but Lena has a look of determination. “I’ll just thank him for the lunch and I’ll see him tomorrow.”

“Boring but ok. When do you plan to see him again?”

“Tomorrow hopefully.”

“Oh really now.”

“He figured we could do something since you have to work.”

Marylea takes a shot of tequila and make a funny face. “Well isn’t that super sweet.”

“Hater.”

Marylea throws her hands up in the air. “Hey now. I wasn’t hating just saying that it was sweet. Especially considering you were just to do a few events with him.  Nothing more or less.”

“Ma’am I don’t think I like your tone or where you are gong with that comment.” 

Lena replies taking a shot of tequila.

“Just saying he might like you like you. With his PENIS!”

Lena looks shocked but happy at the possibilities. “Shut up!” She squeals as she throws a pillow at her friend, Marylea dodges the pillow and sticks her tongue out at Lena. “Do you think he might like me with his penis?” She asks in a humorous whisper.

“You never know if you don’t try to get to know him. Meaning don’t blow him off tomorrow.” Lena rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "I know he hasn’t been gone long but I highly doubt he wants you to be alone the rest of your life. Just give him and the whole experience a chance.”

“I know and I will try just makes me nervous. You know? Plus being out here with no clue what all they offer makes me feel like he is all in control of the situation. So it just makes me slightly tense.” Lena stretches out in the king size bed and starts to unwind.

Marylea props herself up on her elbows and looks at her friend who is slowly fading fast to Dreamland. “I’ll sign you up for some dance classes. I know it has been a while since we did one but we can try one out. Oh and don’t forget about the photo shoot I sat up with my friend.” She waits for a reply but sees her friend fast asleep with her cell phone in her hand.  She takes the phone out of her friend’s hand and sees that she hadn’t even hit send on the message to Chris.

 “Lena?” With no reply from Lena, Marylea decides to give Lena another little push in the right direction of happiness. She adds a few more lines to the text and hits send then, covers Lena and herself up with a blanket. Just like old times. She thought to herself, she has missed her friend and these moments that have helped them bond and grow. God please let them work out, I need her out here permanently. It’s been forever since she talked to God but figured at this point she could use all the help she can get.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Chris wakes up at his usual time thanks to Dodger, he loves that dog and his ability to wake up at the same time every day no matter where they are. He lets Dodger out and does some stretches. While his cup of tea is brewing he looks at his phone and catches up on the news and gossip. When he glances at his messages he has a few from friends but one from an unknown number, before blocking the number he decides to read the message.

Thanks for lunch yesterday. Hope to see you again today. 💋

Seeing this message makes him smile a bit. Glad to know that he can still connect to females. He wants her to not only have a good time in California but wants her to enjoy her time with him. He knows it’s only been a day but he likes talking to her. It’s been so long since he has met someone so real and honest that it makes him want to keep her smiling and laughing. He sends her a quick reply then makes a quick call.

“Hey Marylea. Did I wake you?”

A sleepy Marylea answers on the first ring, “Hello? Chris? It’s not even 7am. What do you need?”

“Umm yeah everything is ok for the most part. I just wanted some intel on Lena. Like you know what kind of breakfast she might like or favorite flowers.”

The questions that were asked didn’t fully take Marylea by surprise. She was right when she told Lena Chris liked her. It’s good to see that he is moving so quick to make things go smoothly with her. “Do you like my best friend?”

A small pause happens because he isn’t fully sure how to answer the question. “I think she is a great girl so far. I might like her. I just want to know she likes me back.”

“Interesting… well for breakfast I already got her favorite bagels and cream cheese. But she does love daisies, so if you surprised her with those she would be ok. But you should look at some of her social media to get a better idea of what she likes and I don’t know continue to talk to her to get to know her.”

Chris chuckles at Marylea’s last comment. “I know. I talked to her a lot last night but, I just wanted to have my best foot forward and show her I think she’s pretty awesome. But anyways I’ll let you go. Is she still asleep?”

Marylea looks back at the king size bed to her bestie knocked out still. She doesn’t think she has gotten much sleep or at least a night without interruption since being the only one there for Eevee. “Yeah she is still a sleep. But Chris one more thing before you go.”

“What’s that?”

“If you hurt her, make her cry, or do anything other than make her smile I will promise to end you. She is my best friend and deserves only the best and that was why I volunteered her to escort you to a few gigs. Don’t lead her on, she doesn’t deserve that. Understand?”

“Loud and clear. I just want a friend or maybe more.”

“Ok. Good now I’ve gotta get finished dressing for work. I guess I’ll see you later.” She says cheerfully after changing her tone, “And one more thing. Hello Kitty.”

“Hello Kitty?”

“She adores anything and everything Hello Kitty. The rest of her obsession or ‘hobbies’ as she calls them you will have to figure them out. Buh bye.”

“Bye and thanks so much.”

Click.

With that Chris started googling flower shops that had daisies and starts looking at how to make today a great day for them both.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Marylea knew she shouldn’t threatened him but at the same point she didn’t really care. Lena was honestly like the only real family she has even if they aren’t blood. She knows if it was the other way around Lena would have said that and more. But on a positive note Chris has a crush on her. She smiles and does a little happy dance as she grabs her keys and heads for the door.

“Marylea? Are you leaving?” Lena groggily asks as she lifts herself up from the comfortable bed.

“Yeah, I’m heading out. Bagels are in the fridge. Tylenol on the nightstand just is case you are hungover.”

“Aren’t you?”

“A little bit but I can get through it. I’ve gotta go but, have fun with Chris today.”

“Ugh! You had to remind me of that. I just wanna sleep.”

“Nope, you already agreed to today.  Maybe it will be an easy day but in a few days you have a photo shoot to do for Andre.” Marylea saw Lena’s eyes open up more when mentioning a photo shoot that she hadn’t told her about yet. With that pause she took that as a sign to leave. “We can discuss that tonight over dinner. Love you mean it.”

Lena falls back into bed and sighs. What have I gotten myself into? She then looks over to her phone:

Had a great time also. Text me when you wake up. Got some fun plans today. :)

Seeing that text made her smile a little bit. She can’t remember she woke up to a text from someone, probably not since her and Ezra were dating years ago. It was a small message but the act still made her smile.  She won’t admit to anyone including herself that she might have a small crush on him. Part of her feels like admitting that  means she doesn’t love Ezra anymore which isn’t the case but she knows he can’t come back. 301 days. She is hoping that as time goes on it will be better.

It’s only 7am she calls her parents to check up on Eevee while making herself breakfast. Her parents let her know that Eevee was doing just fine. She decides to shoot Chris a quick message and let him know that she would be ready in the next hour or so. 

With that she takes two Tylenols then heads to the shower. She realizes that she forgot to ask him how to dress so she figures jean shorts and a white tank top would work. She decides since her hair is still straight she would do her hair in space balls.

She hears the doorbell ring and looks at the clock. Wow he wasn’t joking about wanting to see me. Opening the door she is greeted with a huge bouquet of daisies. 

“Oh my! These are beautiful. How did you know these are my favorite?”

“A little bird told me.”

“Would this birdy happen to be my bestie?” She asked giving him a curious look with one eyebrow raised.

“I can neither confirm nor deny. . .”

“Fine be difficult. So what are the plans for the day?”

“Well I was thinking of going to a café.”

“A café?” She asks with a questioning look.

“You don’t like the idea?”

“Didn’t say that just hoping our full day won’t be spent at a café.”

“Ohh no never. I figured it would be a good way to start the day, then maybe hit a few shops up to find you something for the charity dinner.”

Charity dinner. Thinking of what is to come slightly makes her uncomfortable but, she knows she needs to do this. What’s the worse that can happen in all honesty? You have a great time, meet new people, have fun experiences, and maybe fall in love. LOVE. That seems slightly foreign to her. It has been 301 days since she has been in love. Maybe it has been enough time to at least play with the idea of finding a new love. She has hated going to sleep alone and waking up alone. “OK let’s go!”

The two get in Chris’ car and head down the interstate. Lena enjoys the warm breeze as they are cruising through the city. Chris admire her from the side as she is quietly taking in her new surroundings. He can’t help but think she is beautiful.  She doesn’t wear any makeup minus some chap stick but still manages to look amazing.

They finally arrived to a large bright pink RV as soon as they see it Lena’s eyes grow wide and she squeaks out, “Hello Kitty Café!? Oh. My God! I’ve always want to go to it but they never come to West Virginia or anywhere near me.” Lena hasn’t been this excited about anything for her in a while. “This is sooo amazing.”

“You are really excited about this. Aren’t you?” He replies with a chuckle as he puts the car in park. She’s out of the car before he shuts his door, she standing there bouncing up and down looking giddy with happiness. With out thinking he grabs her hand as the go to stand in line with the other patrons. Her body tensed at first when he grabbed her hand but he stroke her hand with his thumb and she quickly relaxed.

“I’m super excited! This is like totally awesome!” She gets slightly distracted by the menu of things to get.

In no time they are in the front of the line, Lena still hadn’t figured out what she wanted so Chris figured he would surprise her even more. “Good morning ladies, I called ahead and I believe you put stuff aside for me and my lovely date.” Hearing the label of ‘date’ made Lena blush slightly.

“Ohhhh it really is you! And yes, we put one of everything to the side like you asked. Can we have your autograph pretty please?” The perky clerk asked as she had another girl run to get the bag full of goodies. Chris nods as the girl and few others run over to him to get his picture. Lena politely walked off to the side so they could get his picture. “Can we have a picture of you and him together? You guys look so cute together. Plus you guys are matching.”

 Shocked by the fact neither had looked at the other’s clothes they realized they did in fact match. Both wore white tank tops and jean shirts with Converse, hers were Hello Kitty and his were solid black. They both had sunglasses on, the main difference was she didn’t have a hat on unlike him who is sporting his favorite NASA hat.

“Sure why not.” Lena shocked herself with how easily she replied at being ok with being photographed with him. I guess I need to start getting use to it. Chris pulls Lena closer to him and puts his arm around her waist while her hand lays on his chest.

 “Awww you guys look so cute! What’s your name? How long have you guys been going out?”

 Lena looks at Chris nervously praying that he will take the lead and answer questions. She isn’t sure what to say other than the truth so she hopes that when he answers it will set the tone of how things will always be for them.

 “This is Evangeline, and we this is our first official date. We just met through friends yesterday. Hate to cut this short, but I want to give her a great first date.” With that Chris grabs her hand once more as they head back to the car with four bags packed full of Hello Kitty merchandise.

 Beaming Lena gives him a bright smile as she pulls the plush Hello Kitty from the bag. “That was awesome! Thank you so much for this all! I can’t believe you got me one of everything.”

 “Well I looked at your Instagram and was trying to figure out what you did have but I figured this was easier. Are you happy with it?”

 “Most def am I happy about it all! Like look how cute this is”. She shows him the bow shaped water bottle and squeals. “So where to now? If there is a place that can really top of this awesomeness.”

 Chris chuckles and places his hand on her knee and gives it gentle squeeze. “This probably won’t be as awesome as the Hello Kitty cafe but it’s still pretty good.”

 Silently Lena gives him a confused look because she was curious as to what their next adventure would entail. They pulled up to a small bright blue building no words were on the building just large glass windows with mannequins with beautiful gowns on them.  “Where are we?”  She asks as he opens the door for her.

 “CHRISTOPHER!”  A small lady who resembles Edna from the Incredibles comes speed walking up to them with open arms. 

 “Edna!”  Chris greets her with the same warmth that she gives him.  “How are you?”

 “Ohh I’m good.  Same ole’ same ole’.  You know how it is.”  Edna stops when she realizes there is someone else with him.  “And WHO is this lovely lady?”  Edna takes a good look at the brown eye beauty. 

 Chris snakes his arm around Lena’s waist causing her to blush slightly.  “This is Lena.  We need a dress for tomorrow night.  Nothing to flashy but something  . . ..”  He trails off then looks down at Lena trying to sum up how he wants he to look.  “Beautiful.”

 Edna watches how the pair enacts with each other.  She isn’t sure if they are dating or not but they will be soon.  Generally, when Chris has a lady to take with to events they are family and the ones who aren’t have their own designer they would want rather than Edna.  Interesting. “Well hello.  What is your style?  Favorite color?  Are you opposed to heels?”

 “Hi.”  Lena says going to shake hands but Edna give her a hug with the same warmth she gave Chris.  “I’m not a glamour girl by any means.  I’m a mom.  So I guess boring girl next door.  I’m ok with a basic black gown, but not heels.”

 “I’d venture to say that you aren’t boring on any level.”  Edna says while Chris slyly nods his head.  “But here try this black gown on.”  Edna hands Lena a long black  plunging v-neckline and draped-knot waisted gown.  While Lena takes the gown and go to the dressing room; Edna goes into the back thinking she has the perfect dress for Lena. 

 Lena looks at herself in the gown before stepping out.  Wow I look basic and boring, but this is me now.  I guess.  “What do you guys think?  It’s a little loose but it works.”

 Chris and Edna look at each other giving each other the same look.  Chris knows how blunt Edna is so he opens his mouth to say something but Edna beats him to it.  “I don’t like it on you.”

 “Excuse me?”

 “I. Do. Not. Like. This. On. You.”

 Lena looks at herself in the huge mirror.  “Why not?  You made this; I thought I looked ok.”

 Chris intervenes before Edna would open her mouth again and possibly hurting Lena’s feelings.  “What she means is that it doesn’t flatter your figure.”

 She looks slightly defeated.  “Well what should I wear then?”  Tears threaten to fall down her face.  She refused to let them see her cry.

 He could see the difference in her body language. He hurt her. “It’s ok. We will find something better.” He grabs her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.

 Edna watches them interact and realizes that she was a little bit too blunt with her reply.  “I didn’t mean to say I don’t like it on you, just that it doesn’t look like it is truly your character deep down.  Come sit.”  Lena joins Edna on the velvet blue couch, seeing that they are about to have a moment he walks outside to return some phone calls he has missed.  “Lets just be bluntly honest right now.  You don’t like it very much either.”  

Lena looks down cocking her her head to the side. “It’s not that I don’t like it. . . I just feel like I’m not really Hollywood material.  I don’t know what he or anyone wants of me.”

“Have you met Chris?  He isn’t Hollywood on any level.”

“I know but ...”

“No buts. He likes you. A lot. He might not have told you yet but he does.  You are beautiful and a mom but you can do both. Trust me with your dress ok?”

 “Ok. I’m going to trust, but what do you have in mind?”

“This.  Now go try it on before he comes back.  I want you to just be yourself and more importantly, love yourself.”

********************************************

“So let me get this straight. You didn’t want to take a family member to the charity dinner so you asked Jeff to find you someone. And now you are now ‘dating’ a random girl.”  Scott says. 

Chris runs his hands through his hair. “Wow you make me sound like a desperate asshole.”

“You said it not me.”

“Look it’s not like that, well not entirely. She was volunteered by Jeff’s assistant and I like spending time with her so far. I’d like to date her maybe. But...”

Scott cuts his brother off. “But what?”

“I don’t know if she likes me. Like she has been through some stuff. I don’t want to pressure her, even if I feel we would be great together.”

“Welp brother of mine. Give it time and do baby steps.  I mean if she let you hold her hand and such I think she is on board. Just baby steps.”

“Gotcha. Well I’m going to go inside and see what Edna has her in maybe something to really show her body off more.”

There was a pause. “You left her with Edna?”

“Yeah why?”

“Nothing just go back to see what she has her in.”

[elatedmarvel]

Exclusive: Life After the Shield

Steve Rogers x Reader

Summery: An inside exclusive with one Steven Rogers, years in the future.

Word Count: 1385

AN: Hello! Idk where this came from, but it was super fun to write. I hope you all enjoy. Thank you so much for reading. Feedback is always welcome. ~J

Warnings: none

The house is unremarkable, just another two story with a porch wrapped around it. The yard has bikes and mini cars thrown about and other outdoor toys strewn up the stairs to the front door. As this reporter knocks on the door, the sounds of paws clicking becomes more distinct, and a sharp bark is heard behind the heavy wood door. Someone comes to shush the pooch, and when the door opens there stands Captain Steve Rogers in all his glory.

He’s half kneeling, trying to get a good grip on the squirming dog but greets me anyways. “Sorry about him, he’s just excited, I promise he won’t bite.” he laughs as he welcomes me into his home.

It really is a home. 

Shoes, both little and big, line the entryway. Family portraits hang in the adjoining hallway, even shots of current and retired Avengers. A withered sepia colored one of a smaller Steve with a man who has Steve’s jawline, and a woman who has Steve’s eyes complete the set. “My parents, it just wouldn’t be right to have a picture wall without them” he says when he catches me taking a closer look. 

We walk further into the house and evidence of his children are everywhere. Toys that have yet to be put away in the hallways, their drawings hung on the fridge with pride, and a highchair at the dining room table. We can hear them yelling and laughing in the backyard as we settle into his office for the interview-- Steve having to remove the teddy bear and doll that was on his seat.

At first it’s obvious to just see him as Captain America . But here in the converted farmhouse, it’s easier to see him as a civilian. He’s not quite as angled and sharp as in his avenging days, something he attributes to his family's love of baking together. “My kids and I love to try new recipes,” he tells me later, “honestly I’m just glad I have the serum to keep me in shape.” 

His workout routine still impressive though. He tells me he tries to get up and run, and he still lifts weights on a regular basis. Going to the compound to spar with childhood best friend, Sergeant James Barnes on an almost daily basis-- who still kicks his ass like when they were younger.

“It’s getting easier with every kid though” he explains “with the first one I was so cocky that I bought a jogging stroller. Thought I’d be able to take Sarah with me on my runs and let my wife have some down time. I was so wrong, we were basically zombies that first few months. I never even put her in the damn thing.” 

Captain Rogers retired from active duty after his firstborn. Still in the Avengers reserve, he trains recruits and strategizes with the new team. “It was time to take a step back.” he reflects. “I’ve been fighting the good fight since the 1920s, I needed to live my own life now, be a present father and husband.” When asked about why he still affiliates with the Avengers he jokes that he couldn’t hand over responsibility completely, “I still have trouble with that, and I needed the money.” 

It’s abundantly clear how fond of his children the retired Avenger is. “They are the best things in my life. After I was frozen and came out in this century, I didn’t think I could have that family I always envisioned. I put my head down and did what I knew.” 

What changed all this? His wife. 

“She’s just everything to me. It’s like we met and everything just clicked into place.” he earnestly replies, “I’m not sure I would be where I am if it wasn’t her.” 

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers met in the Avengers Compound where she worked as a doctor. “She’s a spitfire, she never let me leave without examining me after a mission. She figured out I would hide some of my injuries, and she gave me crap for it.” he recounts. “She understood me the best. And she’s just this amazing person, you know she was in the army after med school and knew what it was like to be in combat. We could just talk for hours about anything, and that’s so special to me. The first time I told her I loved her was after she kicked my ass in a sparring session. She doesn’t take shit from anyone. Sorry, language!” he laughs. “Having kids really censored my foul language.” 

Turns out, their youngest Sammy, is just starting a phase where she repeats everything, “She gets me in trouble a lot with the wife. Set up a swear jar and everything, and if Sammy says the word then it’s $20 bucks.”

Their children’s cheerful smiles stare back at me from a picture on the desk. Three little cherubs; Sarah, James, and Samantha. “Sarah is definitely in charge” he smirks “she decides what they play and watch. But James is getting to the age where he’s starting to fight back some. He’s learning how much he can push back and get away with. It’s honestly so entertaining. Obviously Sammy is too young to know what’s really going on, but I have a feeling her and Sarah are going to gang up on James when they’re a little older.” 

Rogers seemed a little coy when asked about the possibility of adding a fourth child to the mix. “You know, it would be great to even the playing field, give James his own buddy. But Sammy’s still pretty young so we’ll see. We’ve talked about it for sure but no plans right now.” 

While there are no plans to add to the Rogers household human wise, they have added many fur babies to their fold since moving upstate. “I never thought I would leave the city, but Tony saw this listing and showed us. We fell in love instantly. It’s got plenty of room and like an acre of land or something crazy like that. It’s a good thing too because my wife keeps finding these animals to take in. You met Dodger earlier, he’s the newest addition.” 

Apparently, Dr. Rogers has a knack for finding animals that need a home. “I swear they seek her out and know she’s too soft to turn them away. We’ve got 4 cats, a dog, some chicks that are turning into chickens fast, and even some goats.” Steve swears the goats are just here until Bucky is able to find a suitable home for them, but it’s easy to tell he didn’t even believe himself. “I’ve just got to accept that we have a zoo. I’m sure in a few years we’ll add horses or something. Sarah’s been begging for one, and Uncle Tony doesn’t quite know how to tone down the gifting.” He chuckles.

As we sit and talk about future plans, Dr. Rogers comes knocking with a plate of cookies and a baby on her hip. She has to take the older two to music class and settles baby Sammy on her father’s lap. Instantly his eyes light up as he coos and talks to his youngest, Sammy herself giving us the biggest, gummy smile possible. She takes interest on a cookie and stuffs one in her mouth before anyone can stop her. “I guess there’s no harm in you just chewing on that, it’ll be our little secret baby” Rogers says to his daughter, pushing back some of her unruly hair and pressing kisses to her forehead. The rest of the interview goes by quickly, getting last moment clarifications and questions in-- Sammy chiming in more than once with her opinion. When Captain Rogers leads me to the doorway and bids me a farewell, Dodger tries to acquaint himself again.

With baby on hand and dog circling his feet, it’s easy to see just Steve Rogers. A caring husband, doting father, and overall happy man. One who has found purpose and life beyond the shield. A man right where he belongs.  

Edit: Since this interview six months ago, the Rogers’ have announced they have welcomed another little boy, Nathan. Here’s hoping they actually get to use that jogging stroller this time around. Congratulations to the happy family!

Tag:

@captainchrisfics

[chalantness]

baby, it’s cold outside - day three

(for my “season of shipping” giveaway)

Ship: Steve/Natasha Rating: PG-13 Word Count: ~1,400 Prompt: “Romanogers + suburb 'verse + Sarah's Christmas ballet recital” + this photo

For: @steph21108

Set in the suburb ‘verse.

Read on: [ ao3 ]

He knows it’s his mom at the door without having to glance out the kitchen window. There’s no way Nick would’ve let Sarah answer the door otherwise, for starters, and really, Grandma is the only person Sarah ever gets this excited to see. Maybe other than Sharon, who’s already standing beside him at the island, giggling into her mug of hot cocoa.

“You made it!”

Sarah’s excited peel of laughter echoes through the air, bouncing off of the hardwood floors and wider space of the living room. Renovations to the house hit a little bit of a snag about a month in, and for a second, they didn’t think things would be done in time for the holidays. And even then, they’d only barely made it. Half of their stuff is still in boxes in their storage unit, and because Sarah’s recital is this weekend, they’d put off having their new couch and shelves and entertainment stand delivered until Monday. Their living is almost entirely bare except for their Christmas tree; even their presents hadn’t made it over yet, still stacked in the corner of Bucky’s guest bedroom, where the three of them and Dodger had crashed while the house was being expanded. The guy swears he loved having them over, but Steve is sure he’ll be glad to have his house back to himself, too.

Especially now that Wanda’s moved in with him.

(Yeah, that took a second to get used to, and of course he’d given Bucky a little shit about dating his daughter’s babysitter. But he’s happy for them.)

“She’s so happy,” Sharon laughs, and Steve grins, because, yeah. Sarah has always been bubbly and bright, and of course she’s happy that everyone is over, and she’s anxious about her recital tonight. But it’s more than that. She’s thrilled, practically buzzing with excitement, and she probably won’t last a few more minutes before blurting out why.

“That’s because she’s the princess to everyone in this house right now and she knows it,” Bucky points out, grinning, and Steve chuckles. There’s no arguing that.

Sharon opens her mouth to say something, but then padded footsteps make their way across the hardwood, right for the kitchen, and he looks over his shoulder in time to see Sarah bursting into the kitchen. She has a wide smile on her face, her red, tulle skirt flying all around her as she bounds right for them. He’d half-expected some of that energy of hers to fade as she got older, as it does with most kids, and he’s really fucking relieved that this wasn’t the case. Sure, she’s absolutely matured, and she’s calmed down in a lot of ways. But she’s still the same bubbly, bouncing little girl at nine that she was at six in a lot of ways, too, and maybe it’s selfish, but he doesn’t ever want that to change.

“Look what Grandma brought me, Daddy,” she announces, holding the nutcracker ornament up by its string so he can see.

“That’s awesome, princess,” he says, his hand instinctively moving to ruffle her hair, but she leans away before he can touch her perfect bun, narrowing her eyes playfully. It’s crazy, how much she’s picked up from Nat. “Sorry, sorry,” he laughs, holding his hands up as if .in surrender, and she grins at him as she shakes her head. “Want to put it up?”

“Yeah,” she replies, taking his hand and spinning on the points of her toes, guiding them out of the kitchen.

And it’s kind of ridiculous, really, the way his heart skips in his chest when he sees Natasha laughing with his mom, the two of them still standing in the foyer. Fuck, she’s beautiful. He’s always known this, but even after almost two years together, he still gets this giddy sort of warmth in his chest when he sees her. Especially right now, with her cheeks a little flushed and her hair piled elegantly atop her head and her scarlet red dress draping off of her shoulders, exposing the long dip of her shoulders, the delicate curve of her neck, coming together at her tiny waist and falling away to tease the creamy skin of her thighs. She pushes her hair from her face, her ring glinting in the evening light.

He'd known what dress she was wearing tonight, of course, but she was still getting ready when Nick, May, and Peter arrived, and this is the first time he’s seeing her in it.

(He loves it, but he’s pretty certain he’ll love getting her out of it a little more.)

“Eyes up here, darling,” Natasha teases as he reaches her, tapping his chin up with her fingers. In a staged whisper, she adds, “Don’t check me out in front of your mother.”

“Too late for that,” his mother mumbles with a playful roll of her eyes, and Steve chuckles, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She touches his jaw, giving it a playful pinch, and then she’s taking Sarah’s hand and saying something that Steve doesn’t catch as they head toward the tree.

He slides his hands over her hips, draws her to his chest, and she sighs, her body melting against his as he brushes his lips over hers in a teasing, feather-light kiss. “Hi.”

He chuckles. “Hi yourself.” He slides one hand up, curls his fingers and drags his knuckles up her spine, along the soft expanse of skin exposed by the dip in the back of her dress. Her eyelashes flutter, her lips parting ever so slightly – and then he lightly squeezes her ribs and she yelps and flinches away, glaring half-heartedly.

“Wow, this place has an echo,” Peter marvels, glancing around the wide, empty space of the living room. Steve looks over at where he, Wanda, May, and Nick are across the room, his lips twitching in amusement at the sight of them lounging in the bean-bag chairs Sarah dragged over from her room and the den.

“That might be a problem when you two are trying not to wake Sarah,” Bucky mutters as he passes them, laughing when Sharon (gently) elbows his ribs in warning.

Across the room, Sarah stretches on the points of her toes and loops the string of the nutcracker onto a branch, then carefully fluffs the pines out with her fingers until it’s resting just so. He knows Natasha’s watching this, too, because she’s got this little smile on her face when Steve glances at her. She winks, pulling from his arms and walking over to Sarah. She drops a kiss atop Sarah’s head, leans in to whisper something into her ear, and Sarah glances over her shoulder to smile a bright, beautiful smile up at Nat.

Fuck. He loves these two so, so much, and he didn’t think he’d ever want anything as much as he wants them. But he was wrong.

“It turned out nice and all, but did you really need even more space?” Nick asks, one eyebrow arched, and Steve wonders if he imagines the knowing tone to his voice.

“Last I checked, kids need a lot of space,” Steve says, and Sarah puts her hand over her mouth, giggling.

“Last I checked, you only have one of those,” Wanda points out, gently scratching behind Dodger’s ear as he sleeps on her lap.

“Not for long,” Natasha quips. Sarah’s eyes snap onto hers, her gaze wide and her smile wider, and the room goes completely quiet. Natasha’s lips pull at the corner and she shrugs her shoulders cutely, not unlike Sarah does almost all the time, and May practically sputters out “what?” from behind her wine glass. Natasha’s smile widens.

“Nat’s pregnant!” Sarah exclaims, her voice chiming like bells as it echoes through the room, and Steve laughs, pulling Nat to his chest by her hip and kissing her temple.

“Sarah,” Natasha laughs. “Today was supposed to be about you.”

“I don’t mind sharing,” Sarah says, wrapping her arms around Natasha’s, too, and giving her a gentle squeeze, and Steve feels his chest squeeze. “As a big sister, I’ll have to get used to it anyway, right?”

Everyone laughs, and then they’re talking all at once, exclaiming their congratulations and chattering excitedly. Everyone crowds around Nat to hug her, which is a little awkward to do considering he still got his arm around her.

But, as he meets her gaze, Sarah’s hand tightening around his where it’s resting over Nat’s stomach, he decides that he doesn’t ever plan on letting go.

[thegloober]

Mailbag: Gonzalez, Bumgarner, Keuchel, Kershaw, Harrison

Clint Frazier’s injury is already having a domino effect on the Yankees’ offseason

We’ve got ten questions in this week’s mailbag. Good mailbag, I think. Glad it’s the offseason and we finally have some more things to talk about it. I’m not sure how many more questions I could answer about Miguel Andujar’s ultimate position before going crazy. Anyway, RABmailbag (at) gmail (dot) com is the mailbag email address. Fire away.

This was quite the go-ahead double. (Jason Miller/Getty)

Phil asks: Marwin Gonzalez. The perfect FA match. He can play 2B (with Gleyber at SS) until they figure out the Didi situation. He’s the super-utility starter they hoped Wade would become. And he won’t cost a TON. 1) Am I right, or am I RIGHT? 2) What do you think the damage will be in years/dollars? Thanks.

Gonzalez is one of those free agents who’s a good fit for every team because he’s so versatile. He can play all four infield positions — and play them well, which is kinda important — as well as left field. I don’t think I would ever expect him to hit .303/.377/.530 (144 wRC+) like he did in 2017 again. That seems like one of those perfectly timed career years teams need to win a World Series. Since 2014, Gonzalez has been a 100-110 wRC+ guy with 12-15 homers annually aside from that 2017 season, which is pretty good. Switch-hitter who takes walks and will sock one out of the park every so often while playing all over the field? That guy fits every team.

As for the cost, man, I don’t know. I feel like it’s impossible to predict free agent contracts this offseason because everything was so wacky last offseason. Gonzalez turns 30 in March, so he’s not old. I think his asking price starts at Ben Zobrist’s contract (four years and $56M). Gonzalez is five (!) years younger now than Zobrist was when he hit free agency, though his track record isn’t as good or as long. In a normal free agent climate, four years and $56M would be reasonable in my opinion. In this free agent climate? Who knows.

Ian asks: I understand he *should* retire a Giant, but the fact remains that SF has not extended Bumgarner yet, he’s set to become a free agent next year at the age of 30. Am I crazy for thinking he might be available? Why would they wait for him to get closer to FA before extending him if they have no intention of letting him go? It’s not like they’ll be in ‘win now’ mode in 2019, and I’d gladly take a shot at 30 year old MadBum. 30 is older, but it’s not that old to where I’d pass on him.

The Giants don’t have a general manager or baseball operations head right now. GM Bobby Evans was let go and longtime executive Brian Sabean is moving from president of baseball operations into a less demanding role. I assume the decision to trade or extend Madison Bumgarner will wait until the team has a new front office in place. Either that or ownership will step in and give him that quote-unquote lifetime contract.

I would happily take on one year of Bumgarner. Bring him aboard and see how the season plays out before deciding whether to sign him long-term. If the Giants do decide to trade him, they should do it sooner rather than later. Trading him now nets the best possible return. Look at Manny Machado. Look what the Orioles got for him compared to what they could’ve gotten last winter. A full season of Bumgarner is much more valuable than two months of Bumgarner at the deadline, plus there’s always injury risk to consider.

The Yankees should absolutely check in on Bumgarner if the Giants decide to move him. They should do more than check in, really. They should pursue him aggressively. I don’t think putting Justus Sheffield in the trade would be unreasonable either, even for only one year of Bumgarner. He’s great and you have to pay to get great. The Giants presumably have to get their front office in place before any of this happens. I wonder if this means the free agent pitching market will be held up until San Francisco makes their intentions with Bumgarner clear?

Douglas asks: Short and sweet: do you think Keuchel would part with majestic beard of his to become a Yankee or would that be a sticking point? Is it time to revise the facial hair policy of the Yankees–goatees and well-groomed beards allowed? Seems like the thing to do upon leaving the Yankees is grow a beard.

Getting rid of the facial hair policy is long overdue. It is pointless. Baseball players are not working class Average Joes. Lots of folks would lose their job if they showed up to work with a baseball player beard. Baseball players don’t live in the same world as most folks though. Baseball is the entertainment business, first and foremost. Part of that entertainment is letting players be themselves and show some personality. There are a lot of ugly beards out there, but, if a player wants an ugly beard, let him have an ugly beard. I see no problem with this.

As for Dallas Keuchel, if he refuses to sign with the Yankees because of the facial hair policy, so be it. I’m not all that eager to sign him anyway. His strikeout (17.5%) and ground ball (53.7%) dropped considerably from last year (21.4% and 66.8%), and an upper-80s sinker guy is not really my cup of tea. Keuchel is 30 and he pitches like I want a 35 or 36-year-old to pitch after he loses his stuff. I don’t want to invest big money in a guy who might be sitting mid-80s by year three of a long-term deal, especially given the performance decline we saw this year.

Miggy. (Gregory Shamus/Getty)

Patrick asks: Would you consider a trade for Miguel Cabrera if the medicals check out? Send over Ellsbury and maybe a lower level minor league arm or two and the Tigers send Cabrera and cash to make the financials a wash. Cabrera could potentially be much more useful at 1b.

Nope. There are five years and $154M (!) remaining on Cabrera’s contract. Send over Jacoby Ellsbury to offset salary and you’re still taking on $107M for a guy who’s starting to break down physically (played 445 of 648 possible games the last four years) and has seen his performance slip. Cabrera’s an all-time great who should waltz into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot when the time comes. We’re talking about taking on what figure to be heavy decline years though, and chances are he’ll be relegated to DH before long just to keep his body in one piece. How much would the Tigers have to pay down to make this worthwhile? Turn him into a $10M a year player? Even that doesn’t excite me. The time to get Miggy was ten years ago when he was in his prime and the Marlins put him on the market. Trade for him now and you’re asking for trouble. This feels like an old Yankees move.

James asks: Not a question just an observation: Your continual comparison of pitchers ERA with Sanchez and Romine behind the plate fails to take into account that Romine caught the majority of Gray’s starts. Near the end of the season I calculated the staff ERA difference and, if I recall correctly, removing Gray from the equation led to nearly similar staff ERA’s for both catchers.

How many more hoops do we have to jump through to make Austin Romine look good? Fine. If we remove Gray from Romine’s numbers, it’s still a 3.95 ERA. The pitching staff had a 3.50 ERA with Sanchez. It was a 3.38 ERA when we remove Gray, which is only fair, because we did it for Romine. And wasn’t Romine supposed to be the Sonny Gray whisperer anyway? I thought he needed his personal catcher to pitch well?

Catcher ERA is dumb as hell and should never ever be used in a serious analysis. It assigns way too much credit to the catcher. At the end of the day, all the catcher can do is put down the signs. The pitcher still has to execute. Sonny has good stuff and I have no reason to doubt the team’s game-planning. He just doesn’t execute. Gray leaves a lot of mistakes out over the plate no matter who’s catching. Just avoid catcher ERA all together. I only use it to troll the Cult of Romine™.

Luke asks: First off, Steve Pearce? Come on! I can’t find it anywhere, but I can’t help to believe that Price had to have led the Sox in WAR for the World Series. Which players were the best players by WAR in the World Series? Is there a better way to value players (pitchers versus hitters) in general?

As far as I know, no one calculates postseason WAR. That seems like it would be tough to do. You’d have to recalculate replacement level for postseason rosters. We do have postseason win probability and championship probability added though. Here are the 2018 World Series leaders:

Win Probability Added (WPA) 1. Steve Pearce: +0.63 2. David Price: +0.46 3. Walker Buehler: +0.45 4. Yasiel Puig: +0.41 5. Joe Kelly: +0.38

Championship Probability Added (CPA) 1. Steve Pearce: +0.196 2. Joe Kelly: +0.116 3. Yasiel Puig: +0.115 4. Rich Hill: +0.106 5. David Price: +0.105

I personally would’ve voted for Price — two very good starts, including one in the clincher on short rest, with a relief appearance mixed it? that gets my vote — but Pearce was obviously a defensible choice. If you’re interested, here are the Yankees’ postseason leaders in CPA by round. Ralph Terry is the all-time postseason CPA leader (Yankees or otherwise) with +0.994 in the 1962 World Series.

Derek asks: If Clayton Kershaw opts out, how willing would the Yankees be to signing him? Would you pay the steep price? Personally, I’m terrified of it becoming a dead money contract and the postseason results haven’t been there. His fastball has also declined from 95 to 91 and his whiff percentages are way down.

The fact Kershaw and the Dodgers agreed to push his opt-out back from Wednesday to today is a pretty good indication they’re working on an extension. I’m guessing it’ll be announced later today. Maybe they’ll add two years on top of the two years remaining on his contract? We’ll find out. And, just to toot my own horn, I said I expected Kershaw to leverage his opt-out into an extension without actually opting out when we did our CBS round table.

Anyway, in a hypothetical world where Kershaw opts out, yeah, I’d want the Yankees to look into him. There are legitimate concerns about Kershaw. No doubt. He’s had back trouble three years running now and his underlying performance (and velocity) has slipped. Kershaw’s also only one year older than Patrick Corbin and still very good. Hurt and declining Kershaw had a 2.73 ERA (3.19 FIP) this year. He’s starting from such a high baseline that he’ll still be really good even when factoring in decline. I’m not saying I’d go all out to sign him. But if we’re talking Kershaw at three years and $100M vs. Corbin at five years and $100M, I’d probably go with Kershaw.

Dave asks: Thoughts on Joe Mauer for 1st base next year – good contact, high on base, plus good defense, and a low strikeout total (plus he’s a lefty). Always loved the guy and as a stop-gap player on a cheaper deal might be a very good fit.

I like the idea of Mauer and I had him on my list of potential first base trade targets last year, but I never wrote it up anywhere because I don’t think he’ll actually leave the Twins. He’s a born and raised Minneapolis guy and I don’t think he went through with that emotional final pitch farewell this year …

… only to sign with another team this offseason. Seems to me it’s either retirement or the Twins with retirement in the lead. (MLB.com even cooked up a career highlights video already.) In theory, yeah, I think Mauer would be a real good fit as a high on-base lefty contact guy. He has no power, but that’s fine. The Yankees have power to spare. If Mauer’s willing to leave Minnesota and sign a cheap one-year deal, yeah, the Yankees should check in. I don’t think he’s leaving the Twins for another team though. It’s the Twins or retirement.

Hector asks: How many games did the Yanks have Sanchez, Torres, Didi, Stanton, Judge and Hicks on the lineup? I bet it is less than 50. Yanks just need a little more luck to go their way in 2019. I still believe in their overall talent.

I count 31 games with Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, Didi Gregorius, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Aaron Hicks all in the lineup this year, or 19% of the regular season. Fewer than one out of every five games. I mean, the talent is obviously there. The Yankees do have replace Gregorius now, but there’s a strong core in place already, and it’ll be there again next year. I just don’t like the “we’ll be better next year with good health” line of thinking. Injuries are part of the game. Every team has to deal with them. The Yankees dealt with them better than most teams this year — that’s why they won 100 games while playing their A+ lineup less than 20% of the time — and they’ll have to deal with injuries again next year. That’s baseball.

Garrett asks: The Pirates just declined Josh Harrison’s option. The Yankees have always been linked to him. Could you see them signing him to play 2nd with Torres moving to SS and moving into a utility role when Didi returns? What would it take?

Yeah, I think Harrison is someone to keep an eye on. The Yankees have been connected to him several times over the years, though I always got the sense they were kinda lukewarm on him and weren’t willing to go all out to get him. Now that he’s available for just cash, it makes more sense to get involved. That said, Harrison wasn’t very good last year (.250/.293/.363 and 78 wRC+) and he’s been a sub-100 wRC+/sub-1.5 WAR player in three of the last four years. Maybe he can improve going forward. I’m not sure how much I’d willing to bet on that. I think the Yankees see Harrison as more of a fallback plan on the middle infield rather than Plan A.

Clint Frazier’s injury is already having a domino effect on the Yankees’ offseason

Source: https://bloghyped.com/mailbag-gonzalez-bumgarner-keuchel-kershaw-harrison/